Why You Should Visit The Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona

I like cemeteries, I’ve always been fascinated by them. Whenever I travel to a new city, I always like to visit at least one cemetery; it’s a way for me to acknowledge significant events of the past related to that city.

When I went to Barcelona, my boyfriend and I visited the Cementiri de Montjuïc, one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever visited.

The History

The cemetery opened in 1883 and is located on one of the rocky slopes on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. The use of the 56-hectare space on the side of Montjuïc Hill was part of an initiative to expand and improve the city, which was growing exponentially at that point. The chief designer of the cemetery was architect Leandro Albareda. There have been over 1 million burials at this cemetery, and there are currently more than 150,000 graves.

Why You Should Go

Many of the more prominent and wealthy families of Barcelona requested the construction and design of their own mausoleums. It resulted in some of the city’s best architectsplaying a role in constructing some spectacular pieces. Many of the larger mausoleums and monumental tombs have little signs next to them with some information about the architectural style.

The place is honestly breathtaking. It’s huge, bigger than I could ever show you with photo’s. The monuments and massive mausoleums make it feel more like a miniature city than a cemetery.

Going to this cemetery helped me connect society and art as well as showcase the cultural, historical and artistic value of many of the grave sites. It was absolutely worth the visit, even if it’s a little bit out of the way.

Montjuïc Cemetery is open Monday to Sunday from 8.00am to 6.00pm and can be accessed by public transport through bus line 21. If you don’t feel like taking a bus, you can take a taxi from Plaça d’Espanya for about 6 euros.

A Quick Note..

The Montjuïc Cemetery is open for tourists, but please remember to be respectful. Many of the plots in the cemetery, especially towards the bottom seemed to be from within the past 30 years or so. Please be mindful that other people there might not be tourists.

ABOUT

Hi, I'm Dalindcy and welcome to my blog! Here, I write about my favorite (and least favorite..) books, as well as any other bookish thoughts I might have. I read a wide variety of genres, from contemporary to fantasy, and from classics to non-fiction.